


Reception

by imiriad



Category: End Roll (Video Game)
Genre: Cowardly Dream Ending, Gen, Guilt, Hallucinations, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 05:49:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8192548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imiriad/pseuds/imiriad
Summary: The dream is crumbling, but that doesn't mean all of their dreams have to go with it. The least Russell can do, even if it doesn't change the past, is leave them with happy memories.





	

It doesn't surprise Russell one bit that Mireille makes a beautiful bride, though she isn't wearing the traditional wedding dress. Instead, it's a gown with a shorter skirt and longer sleeves than the ones Russell had seen pasted into her diary—an outfit that she was very accustomed to. A long veil covers her face (with a familiar cap on top, not the usual tiara), but anyone can make out her blushing cheeks and wide smile.

Saxon turns to face her as she walks toward him down the aisle, and even his solemn expression is lighter, more cheerful. Dogma is standing behind the pulpit, prepared to read the vows they will soon swear to each other.

Indeed, it's an occasion the whole town has been eagerly waiting for.

While Mireille had described her fantasy of being Saxon's servant (and Russell had granted that wish), he knew that wasn't what she really wanted. The same way this dream had made sure Gardenia's father would never come home, Russell had punished Mireille with the sweet torment of having her love so close... and yet so far.

So, Russell changes it.

Mireille passes by where he's sitting and glances over her shoulder at him. She seems incredibly grateful, as though knowing he is in some way responsible for her good fortune.

She is happy, and Russell is relieved.

(She is dead, and Russell has no business finding comfort in this shameless mockery of her wishes.)

The rest of the townspeople are seated in the first two pews, with the lingering survivors from other towns in the rows behind them. This is for them, he tells himself. The dream is falling apart more and more quickly, so Russell wants the last days they have together to be joyful ones. Sometimes, Russell wonders what has become of his body in the meantime. Still alive, still dreaming, and slowly fading? Or long dead, the last lingering pieces of his consciousness finally breaking apart into the ether?

Tabasa, sitting next to him, gives him a pat on the shoulder and squeezes it gently, either in reassurance or approval. Then, he leans down to whisper, “I hope I'll get to marry a woman half as beautiful one day. Don't you?” with a quiet chuckle.

The church is on fire, of course. No one else seems to notice, so Russell pretends he doesn't feel the heat one bit.

The vows go well, with all the lines from the movies Russell watched as a child. Dogma pauses for a moment in his reading, and casts a solemn look over the small crowd. “Should anyone have an objection for why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony... Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Silence, as Russell expects.

But then, Cody gets up from her seat. “I object,” she says, and rather than directing her words to Dogma or the bride and groom, she's looking at Russell. Or would be, if he could make out the eyes in her burned-out husk of a face. “The bride and groom are dead and buried. How can they wed?” Her voice sounds too much like her mother's. “Does it make you happy to parade around their corpses like dolls?”

Gardenia is in the pew in front of him. Her neck twists with a sickening snap, and suddenly Russell can see her face. Her body is broken, slumped in the seat, but her gaze fixes on him with intensity. “Congratulations, Russell,” she sings sweetly, and her tone turns dark. “That's what you wanted to hear, isn't it? You don't care about anyone else, as long as you feel good. This is all just self-satisfaction.”

Russell ignores them both. These awful specters will go away in the end. They always do.

The tension must show on his face, because Kantera reaches over and touches his hand. “Oh, Russell, what seems to be the matter?” For a moment, Russell is sure the nightmare has passed. Then, he realizes that Kantera's horns are gone, and something hard and cold is being pressed into his fingers. “If it becomes too much, you can always use this,” the doctor says gently. Blood starts to drip from the gash at his neck, spilling down the elegant fold of his kimono, even as he smiles. “I understand completely, you know?”

“Russell?” Dogma's chiding voice. More blame, Russell expects.

He looks up, and realizes that the ghosts of the past are gone, and in their place is a room full of eyes, staring at him. Russell finds himself standing in the middle of the church, that the one holding up everything is _him._

“...I'm sorry. I don't have an objection, but...” Russell swallows hard, and looks into the faces of all the people he's killed. His chest is hurting again. It's been doing that more and more since he decided to stay in this dream. “I just wanted to say that... I want you both to be happy. No, I want everyone here to be happy. This place is becoming more dangerous as time goes on. And while, I hope that our town stays safe... or even if it doesn't... I think it would be nice, if everyone were to keep this memory inside them.” Russell takes a deep breath at the end of his words, and sits back down on the pew.

Yumi is the first one to break the silence. “Ain't that a lovely thing to say! 'Atta boy, Russell!” she calls out, grinning, and claps her hands together. Tabasa ruffles his hair, then joins her in the applause, and soon the whole church is commending Russell's impromptu speech.

“Now, now,” Dogma says, calming the sudden outburst with his usual sternness. “There will be plenty of time for all of this after the ceremony. So... if there are no objections...” Though he phrases it as a possibility, his expression declares otherwise. The church is quiet, and a rare smile comes to Dogma's face as he looks down onto Mireille and Saxon. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

The reception takes place in Saxon's home. It's the largest venue aside from the church and, considering the event, the most appropriate.

“Russell!” The excited voice addressing him is Gardenia, who forces a heavy plate of food on him. “I couldn't help but notice you haven't eaten anything yet!” Oh yes. Russell spoons the variety sampling into his mouth as she watches, and nods his head in praise. Gardenia accepts it like her own, sticking out her chest and giggling. “Hehe, my dad's the best, isn't he? He's not a famous chef for nothing!”

Then, she's tugging at Russell's elbow, dragging him into the next room. “I'm so happy to be able to introduce you to him, Russell. I told him so much about you in my letters!” Gardenia's glowing grin doesn't fade one bit, not even when she pushes him in front of the towering cake in the corner.

Russell stares at the birthday cake for a long moment. He bows his head, and says, “It's good to finally meet you, sir.”


End file.
